Sunday, 28 September 2008

Well, my name is Laurie, I am 46 years old, and I live in suburban Boston with my wonderful Husband John. We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in August. We have a 17 year old daughter and a 14 year old son. Teenagers are fun…..really! LOL. I feel fortunate that I have been able to be a stay at home mom. I grew up in a family where everyone is creative in some way and was always busy making something in their spare time. When I started my family, I naturally followed suit and set up a craft room for myself in a spare bedroom.

My family and friends are the main reason I started my shop. I love making and giving hand made gifts. I would spend hours creating unique gifts and everyone seemed to enjoy seeing what I would come up with next. This was usually followed by someone saying “You should sell this stuff!” After hearing it enough times I started to think, maybe they have a point, and decided I should give it a try.

My Ideas usually come from two places. They usually start by me discovering I have a need for something, and then are influenced by the people in my life. Take my Sewl Mate pincushions for example. I was forever searching for my pincushion because my craft table is always so cluttered. So, I made a pincushion on a pedestal, in the shape of a dress form so that I could see it above all the stuff. It was a great solution. Then one night while out with friends, I happened to mention that I enjoy crafting and one of my friends husbands said, “Really, you don’t seem like the type.” The next day while putting some pins in my new pincushion, I started to think about what he said and wonder, is their really a type? I know so many women with varying interests and careers who also like to craft. I found some clay that I had lying around and gave my pincushion a face. Before I knew it she was wearing a jean skirt, had a little pair of Ugg boots made of felt, and looked a lot like my daughter. The first Sewl Mate was born!

My latest products are a direct result of me always having the need to turn something useful into something that is also beautiful, and maybe improve it a bit along the way. I am currently creating seam rippers and needle threaders, embedded in polymer clay to strengthen them, and turning them into adorable little works of art at the same time. I am also in the process of photographing my new line of pincushions, and my newest product called Pretty Pins, which are basically decorative pins to pretty up your cushies.

Monday, 22 September 2008

My name is Veronika von Allmen, I am 23 years old and currently live in Germany. Currently means that I have studied for the last four years in the UK (oh how I miss Tesco's opening times), am originally from Switzerland and have spent a great deal of my life on a sailing boat. Inspirations from other countries and the fact that I grew up with barely any electricity has probably had an impact on my need to create things....

**Can you tell us a bit about your work and how did you start your etsy shop?

One of my biggest hobbies from early on was knitting, but the difficulty of buying commercial skeins, which would only contain natural fibres stopped many projects. Especially with the bright and bulky yarns this seemed to be a problem. As I also love antiques it was the perfect match to get myself a spinning wheel. However when I started my etsy shop, it was actually to sell my sewn bags, using all kinds of unusual fabrics including sail. I have always been fond of combining different crafts and although my shop is currently filled with pretty yarns, the accessories (bags and wrist warmers) will be returning soon. On etsy, just as in life, I think it is important to keep learning as an artisan. Learning a new craft will automatically also improve your understanding of your other crafts.

**What usually sparks off an idea?

Often colours or the materials themselves. Fabrics to me are a major inspiration and luckily I have quite a stash. :D From time to time I also see something unusual in a shop and think that I could spin that into a yarn, then I start from there. My general inspirations also stem from Art nouveau, the early 1900s and a classic British style.

**Please tell us about your latest products:

I am currently really enjoying soy silk, which is a by-product of the tofu making process, but am also exploring the joy of natural, undyed yarns. There are so many ways to experience texture when all you have is one colour. Also, for Autumn/Winter I am bringing back a range of wrist warmers and other accessories.

Little bit about me:My name is erin and I'm a 25 year old mother of two crazy kids. I used to work full time in an office, but when my free babysitter (a.k.a. mom) decided she couldn't handle my munchkins full time anymore I was forced (whoa is me) to cut back to part time. At the time I was also using my traveling photo studio to take pictures of other peoples munchkins in their homes. I love photography and was able to make a bit of extra cash to cover what I wasn't making in my office job. Sadly it still wasn't enough income. So I decided 'hey! I'm crafty!'. I went up to the attic and pulled out my sewing machine and serger. I found them a semi-permanent home in the kids play room and set up shop.

This brings me to how I started my etsy shop:Once my machines were cozy in their new environment I started creating. I thought long and hard about what would sell. Mom gave me the advice of anything to do with kids. I laid in bed that night brainstorming. It had to be something that no one else sells. Somehow the idea of the "Hook N Go" popped into my head. It was like a stroke of genious! The next day I made a prototype (which I use) and a pattern and got started. After a few weeks of none selling I thought I should maybe broaden my horizon a little. So I made some childrens and womens clothing. A few applique childrens outfits, a womens skirt, and some others. One of the skirts I made happened to fit my daughter....and she claimed it as soon as it was finished. I no longer make things in her size when she is around. :)

Latest Product:More recently I have been making purses/bags. When I was pregnant with my first child (now almost 5) I would sit in my bedroom all day long and sew bags. I never sold any....I never really tried. I just liked making them. Different shapes, sizes, colors. I decided a couple weeks ago that I would give it a go for real this time. My grandparents are in the middle of a move, and my memaw (grandma) is a seamstress like me and had boxes upon boxes of fabric with no home. I gladly took some of the fabric (who wouldn't!), took myself to the store for some zippers and created a bunch of new bags for my shop.

What sparks an idea:Oh boy, my mind is always in a gazzilion different places at once. Pretty much anything can spark an idea for me, a color, a texture, a word, a place. My most recent spark..... I use only canvas bags when shopping, so we have no plastic bags to line the bathroom trash can. The fam went to dollar general to get some things that we needed for the house and my husband bought some blue trash can liners (he's in charge of the household trash). They were so pretty. So, now I'm working on crocheting them together to make a reusable plastic bag bag. I bought a roll of the white too and plan to weave it in on the front of the bag to say 'reuse'.

Members of LBOE

How Did You Find Out About LBOE?

This Way To Etsy.com

The Little Book Of Etsy:

Hi there :)The Little Book of Etsy is a great way of reaching out to the UK buyers.Throughout the year I will be getting involved with some major village and school fayres.Cornwall is a very touristy place and so by giving this book away in the Cornish fayres, you'll be achulary reaching lots of buyers around the UK and even the world!This xmas once again I will be creating some more funky little bags and inside will be some promotional goodies also with a booklet.This Summer I managed to make up approx 70 LBOEs!I aim to make these books and goodies presentable and tempting for these purchasers to come and look at your shops.I have got a very positive responce from everyone about this project since I started doing LBOE at the beginning of the year.The best bit is it's totaly FREE so you can't loose! :DYou can get involved by:*being part of the LBOE itself*Get interviewed on LBOE blog*Get a free ad spot ( changed monthly)So thank you to all those who have been involved and please feel free to contact me or leave comments with any enquiries, comments, surjestions any thing that's really on your mind.80 heads are better than 1!